


Delicate

by ariofthesea



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Bittersweet, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Parent AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-11-24
Packaged: 2018-02-26 21:58:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2667851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariofthesea/pseuds/ariofthesea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba always knew that Koujaku had a talent for taking care of people. But when the young girl the two adopted has a nightmare about her mother, Aoba sees a loving side to Koujaku that leaves him in awe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delicate

**Author's Note:**

> For angelicdiaspora on Tumblr, who was talking to me not too long ago about our mighty need for daddy!Koujaku.

The sound of shrieking pierced through Aoba’s dreamless sleep.  He didn’t wake fast for anyone, not even for Koujaku; but the girl seemed to be an exception.

She had been wandering the neighborhood for quite some time before Aoba had decided to confront her on his way home from Heibon one day.  She revealed that she had been the child of a single wealthy woman who had prospered under the reign of Toue, Inc.  But at some point after the fall of Oval Tower and Platinum Jail, her mother went out one night and never returned, leaving her abandoned daughter to roam the streets.  Aoba, familiar with a narrative similar to her own, couldn’t bring himself to walk away, especially since Toue Inc. was ultimately the reason for her current state.  He took her back with him to Koujaku’s place, promising that he and his boyfriend could take care of her for a little while.  Aoba didn’t know how Koujaku would react to coming home and finding a random kid staying at his place, but since Koujaku also knew her story well (mostly because of Aoba, but also because he often dealt with lost kids through Benishigure), he agreed to care for her alongside Aoba.  “A little while” soon turned into three weeks, and the initially quiet child opened up little by little.  

But just when she seemed to be at her liveliest mere hours earlier that evening, Aoba found himself and Koujaku flinging themselves out of bed and following the sounds of her screams.  Beni and Ren were already by her side, attempting to wake her from her hysterical state. It wasn’t until Aoba and Koujaku took her hands that she finally woke up, eyes bloodshot and face drenched with sweat, snot and tears.  

“Aoba-toto?  K-Koujaku-papa?”

“It’s okay, it was just a nightmare,”  Aoba said, rubbing her back.  “But really, you shouldn’t scare us like that.”

She raised her knees to her chest.

“I didn’t mean to, Aoba-toto.  B-but it felt so real, like—*hic*—something was dragging me down deeper and deeper, an-and Mama was there—*hic*—watching me while it happened—”

Unsure of how to respond, Aoba and Koujaku looked to one another.  The moment the word “mama” had left her lips, Aoba worried that this might scratch at Koujaku’s past scars a bit too much, and that perhaps he should take care of the situation.  But then Koujaku answered with a firm expression that said: “Let me handle this one.”  When Aoba opened his mouth to protest, Koujaku’s face grew even more resolute. 

“Hey, um…how about I make you some tea?  Would you like that?” 

The girl wiped her eye with her palm and nodded.  Aoba gave her an assuring smile and a gentle squeeze of the hand.

“Koujaku-papa’s gonna be right here.”  

He nodded to Koujaku, giving the cue to take over.  Even when he left the room, he could hear the echoes of their voices trailing through the hall.  Two sounds in particular made his throat catch: shaky breaths from the child, followed by the comforting way Koujaku called her “baby girl.”  It wasn’t a pet name Aoba had really heard before, but from that night on, it would probably sound weird to him if anyone other than Koujaku used it.

While Aoba boiled some water, he could still make out the faint sounds of two voices.  However, as soon as he finished preparing the girl’s tea, he only heard Koujaku, who was…singing?  A lullaby of some kind?    

Tea in hand, Aoba headed back to the bedroom.  As soon as he reached the doorway, he witnessed a sight that almost caused him to drop the teacup.

Koujaku, with the child’s tiny form cradled in his arms and half-wrapped in her blanket, was moving around the room at a gentle pace that matched his lullaby’s rhythm.  When he turned Aoba’s way, Aoba pulled out of Koujaku’s line of sight.  A few seconds passed, and he peeked into the bedroom.  He could only catch glimpses of their faces whenever Koujaku turned slightly.  The girl appeared to be drifting back to sleep.  Once or twice, her eyes fluttered open a little, and when they did, Koujaku met her gaze with a compassionate expression that made her seem to feel even more at peace.  Aoba felt like a jerk, standing there with his jaw hanging open and not bringing the tea he promised.  But the moment unfolding before him felt so delicate that even the tiniest interruption from him would shatter it completely.  It appeared to wind down when Koujaku stopped in front of the window, allowing a soft summer breeze to kiss his and the child’s bodies.  At that point, she had fallen back into a serene sleep, and the moment ended with Koujaku gingerly laying her down on the futon and combing her hair from her eyes.

Aoba, too mesmerized by what he had just seen, couldn’t budge.  When Koujaku left the room and found Aoba lingering by the doorway, he let out a small, startled gasp.

“Oh! Um…”  Aoba chuckled awkwardly.  “Oops, looks like her tea got cold.”

“You were watching, weren’t you?”

_Damn_ , Aoba thought,  _nothing flies over his head_.

“You started singing before I got here, but yeah, I saw most of it.”

“So why didn’t you come in?”

“I…”  Aoba scratched the back of his head.  “You seemed so off in your own little world, and she looked like she was so peaceful with you there.  I know I was just standing here gawking like an idiot, but it just didn’t feel right to barge in and ruin what you had going, y’know?”

“Yeah, I guess I can see where you’re coming from.”

They walked back to their own bedroom in heavy silence.  After they seated themselves on the futon, Aoba spoke up.

“Call me dumb, but I stood around because the sight of you captivated me.  I mean, I of all people should know you’re really good at taking care of others.  But I guess I didn’t realize you were capable of something that… _tender?_ ”  

He flinched, fearing he had just said something unintentionally offensive.  Koujaku didn’t react one way or another; his vacant stare remained fixed on the ceiling as he lit up a cigarette and inhaled.

“Erm, you get what I’m saying, right?”    

Koujaku let a thin trail of smoke escape from his lips.

“To tell you the truth,” he said at last, “I didn’t know I was capable of what I did back there either.”

He tapped the cigarette against the crystal ashtray. 

“We’re both still learning to live with our past baggage, so when she mentioned her mother, I won’t lie, a shiver went down my spine.  Her circumstances are nowhere near the same as mine, but just like you took pity on her for being a lonely, wandering child, tonight I took pity on her for having her mother be a haunting remnant of her past.  And like you, I wanted to do something about that.  Sure, a part of me wanted you to stay beside me in case I couldn’t handle it.  But even though I’m still fighting somewhat similar monsters of my own, the least I could do for her was keep her close and make her feel safe while I chased away the demon tormenting her dreams.”

Aoba snuggled up against Koujaku.

“Hm?”  Koujaku raised an eyebrow.  “What’s up?”

“The amount of room you can make in your heart for others kills me sometimes, hippo.  It really does.”

A chuckle reverberated in Koujaku’s chest.  “I’d be very sad to hear that, because you deserve to live a long, healthy life.”  

Aoba gripped Koujaku’s shoulders and began to playfully shake him. “And there you go at it again!”

Both of them laughed, but tried to be as quiet as possible for their little girl, who slept like a princess one room over.


End file.
